Speed cameras that can send information back and forth via satellite are being tested undercover on Britain’s roads. The devices can track driver’s speeds for miles and determine if they have broken the speed limit during their journey.
The cameras combine global positioning satellites and number plate recognition technology so that tens of thousands of cars can be monitored across the network.
The system is called SpeedSpike and is used to enforce the London congestion charge allowing two cameras to in essence speak to each other if it looks as if a vehicle has travelled a long distance in a short period of time.
The trial was conducted nationally and was not publicly known until just a few days after a report showed that so far motorists have been fined around one billion in speeding tickets.
There are two test sites for the trial, one on the A374 in Cornwall between Antony and Torpoint and one in Southwark in London. The Conservative Party immediately questioned if such an ‘alarming’ level of surveillance should have been raised so covertly.
Conservative MP Geoffrey Cox, stated that it is always necessary to question if watching or spying on people is appropriate, and that at some point it becomes a comfortable routine, which it never should reach in a free society.
The cameras were created by PIPS Technology Ltd, an American company that has a business base located in Hampshire. The company boasts that its cameras can capture number plates 24/7 and in all weather conditions at a low cost.
